


A Question of Ethics

by Curlew



Series: A Question of.... [1]
Category: Starsky and Hutch - Fandom
Genre: Hurt/Comfort. Plague related, h/c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23718433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Curlew/pseuds/Curlew
Summary: Missing scene from The Plague, explaining something that has bothered me whenever I’ve watched this episode over the years. I have shamelessly borrowed a character I love from another writer -the great K Hanna Korossy. I thought he deserved an outing after a decade of silence!
Series: A Question of.... [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726501
Kudos: 29





	A Question of Ethics

Starsky leant his forehead against the glass of the observation ward window and let his shoulders sag. He had not intended to come to the hospital before work, but somehow here he was. And there was Hutch, so much paler and thinner and sicker than he had been even the day before, his bright hair dulled with sweat, the furrows between his brows deepened by pain, his laboured breathing somehow even more painful to watch because he couldn’t hear it. He longed - needed - to be in the room, sitting on the bed, grasping those hot restless hands in his, sharing the pain, anchoring Hutch to life. But he knew he had other work to do and not long to do it in. He would stay another couple of minutes....,

A friendly arm dropped round his shoulder and a cup of coffee appeared in his hand.

“I got you a Danish too - here”

“Jace! I kinda forgot you worked here”

“Figured you had - you’ve had stuff on your mind. I should have come to find you but I’ve had stuff on my mind too.How are you doing?”

“Oh, you know. Like a man who has 24 hours to find someone who doesn’t want to be found but might be the only hope of saving Hutch and thousands of other people. And like a man who doesn’t know where to start” 

The arm tightened for a moment. “Yeah, shit isn’t it?”

Discovering a hunger he didn’t realize was there, Starsky ate the Danish gratefully, and sipped at the scalding coffee while Jace studied Hutch critically through the glass.

“How’s he doing?”

“Symptoms started yesterday.Judith said then he had 72 hours. Maybe a bit more because he’s young and fit - but his temperature’s going up and his white count’s going down. I’ve got 24 hours to find Callendar if I’m going to give the doctors time to isolate the antibodies.” A wry smile quirked his mouth “A week ago I couldn’t have told you what an antibody was”

Behind the glass, Hutch stirred restlessly, and clutched his hands over his chest, arching a little as the pain reached him through his sleep. Jace glanced up and down the corridor.

“Is it shift change?”

“Don’t know- I haven’t been here enough to know the routines. Why?”

“Oh, just wondering. Who’s his primary physician?”

“Judith, I guess. She takes blood and does his vitals every couple hours”

“She’s from Disease Control - who from this hospital? Who’s his designated nurse? No, don’t worry, I’ll find out. You don’t need any more questions you can’t answer, do you?”

There was a breath of bitter laughter.

“You got that right. I’m running this whole operation. Realistically, I’ve got today to find this guy. He could be anywhere. And all I really want to do is be here”

“I know. But it’s where we are. How about I stand in for you here today? Be here for him while you can’t?”

Starsky wrenched his eyes away from the suffering figure behind the glass to focus on Jace.

“Would you do that?”

“Yes. Now, you go do your thing and leave me here to do mine. We’re both good at our things.”

Starsky turned back to the window for a last long look.

“If you get to talk to him, tell him.....”

“I will. Now go”

With a straightening of shoulders and a lift of chin, Starsky went.

Jace watched him out of sight, then did a little shoulder straightening of his own.

Hutch struggled through the hot fog that surrounded him, and tried very hard not to cough. He remembered what coughing felt like, and he didn’t want to do that again. But inexorably, the urge overcame him, and the pain knifed. Tears sprang to his eyes and he reached out a hand helplessly. This time, miracle of miracles, someone clasped it. Forcing his eyes open, he saw through the fog a gowned and masked figure he vaguely recognized. A man. Not Dr Meredith. And not Starsky. The realization that it was not Starsky made everything a little worse, but the hand was strong and grounding, and the voice when it came was calm.

“Hutch, it’s Jace. Don’t try and talk, just concentrate on breathing. I’m going to make you a bit more comfortable”

Something cool bathed his face and hands, and the tangled bed clothes were deftly straightened so they were no longer wrinkled and irritating under him. Strong hands lifted and supported him through another bout of coughing, rubbing big comforting circles on his back, then held a straw to his mouth so he could drink. His sweat soaked pillow was turned and smoothed and he was settled down again, the covers tucked round his shivering shoulders. It felt so good the tears came again, and the gentle hands wiped them away. 

“I’m just going to dim the lights- I know they’re hurting your eyes. Then I”ll raise the bed a little - it’ll help you to breathe a bit more easily”

Jace was just looking for the right lever when the lights blazed bright again and a shocked voice sounded loudly

“Whoever you are, get out of here NOW!”

It was a masked and gowned woman with a tray of instruments in her hand and utter fury in her eyes. Jace met her gaze coolly.

“Dr. Kaufman, I assume? My name is Dr Broadhurst, I’d welcome a word with you”

“Likewise. However, at this precise moment, I would like you to step away from my patient and leave the room”

Jace turned back to the bed.

“Hutch? I’ll see you later. I’ll be back real soon, I promise”

Hutch managed a ghost of a smile through the shakes that wracked him.

“If there’s any of me left.....”

A final squeeze of the hand, and Jace left to watch through the window as Dr Kaufman briskly slid a thermometer into Hutch’s mouth, took his blood pressure, counted his pulse and extracted a blood sample. A word, a brief smile and she was in the corridor again, grim faced.

“Follow me”

She gestured him into her office, shut and locked the door and rounded on him.

“Just what do you think you’re playing at? This corridor is on complete lockdown. We are dealing with a potential emergency here”

“I am aware of that. I see no reason why that should mean the complete neglect of basic patient care”

“How DARE you! You know nothing about what we’re doing here”

“No. But I do know about looking after patients with high fevers. And about looking after terminal patients. And from what I have observed, Sergeant Hutchinson is not being cared for the way this hospital would expect”

“Sergeant Hutchinson is not an ordinary patient”

“Clearly. May I ask what treatment he is being given?”

“No, you may not”

“May I ask why he does not appear to be receiving even basic nursing care?”

For a moment, she looked unsure of herself.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s currently alone, lying in a bed soaked in sweat, he’s wearing dirty scrubs and nobody had given him anything to drink today until I went in just now. What would you call that?”

“That is certainly not optimal”

“No, not ... optimal...at all. Are you going to arrange for someone to get him clean and comfortable and sit with him or shall I?”

“I will”

“Now would be a good time”

She picked up her phone and issued orders.

“There. Now, who are you?”

“My name is Jason Broadhurst. I am a senior physician in this hospital and a friend of Sergeant Hutchinson’s”

That does not give you the right to interfere with my work”

“I think it might. What treatment is he receiving?”

“Appropriate treatment”

“Appropriate treatment for a significant fever includes anti pyretic medication, external cooling and IV fluid support. And in this case, painkillers. As I am sure you know. None of which appears to be happening. Why not?”

“Dr Meredith and I do not think it necessary at this stage”

Her brown eyes met Jace’s green ones, and held them. Suddenly, he felt a sensation like iced water down his spine. He knew, suddenly and clearly, what was going on. He chose his next words with care.

“It is important for you to know that I am also chair of the Ethics Committee in this hospital. I am about to ask you a very serious question, and you should consider your reply. Is Sergeant Hutchinson being used as a control in your research?”

“We are dealing with a potential catastrophe. In such situations, difficult decisions have to be made”

She did not take her eyes off him, and for a moment, the room rocked. He took a deep breath.

“I think you need to tell me what’s going on here”

“I am leading front line research into a new disease which has the potential to kill millions. Sergeant Hutchinson is young, strong and healthy. We can learn a lot from how his body deals with the virus”

“Particularly if it is allowed to take its course, with no intervention”

“Particularly in those circumstances”

They looked at each other for a long moment. Then Jace said softly.

“First, do no harm”

She leant her head wearily on her hand.

“The greatest good for the greatest number”

Another long pause.

“Dr Broadhurst, he is going to die. This way his death will mean something. I think he would be willing to pay that price”

“Starsky will find Callendar”

Suddenly angry, she slammed her fist onto the desk.

“How can he possibly? It’s an impossible task”

“He will. Because he has to. I have never been more sure of anything”

“Your faith is touching”

‘His motivation is extreme”

“I have to assume that he won’t, and act accordingly”

“Dr Kaufmann, I understand why you made the decision you did. But I cannot allow it to continue. I am going to go to Hutchinson now and see that he gets what he needs. You won’t have to keep the nurses away any more now either- no risk of them coming to unpleasant conclusions”

He stood up and strode to the door, where he paused, looking back at Judith’s stricken face- his last sentence had hit home.

“I said I understand your decision. But if you ever make a similar one, it will be my mission to see you struck off. I hope I make myself clear”


End file.
